Monday, May 20, 2013
A man awaiting sentencing on a child pornography conviction he caught for secretly videoing his naked teenage stepdaughter showed up at his former home in Joliet with a police officer to collect his things.
When Timothy Zak went to court May 7 to be sentenced to as many as seven years in prison for secretly videoing his naked teenage stepdaughter, he was allowed another month of freedom before learning his fate. The day after his sentencing was postponed, Zak returned to the scene of the crime, turning up at the Joliet home where he had set up a hidden camera to record his unwitting stepdaughter, according to a petition filed by Zak's wife. "On this date Timothy Zak showed up at my residence with a Joliet police officer who had been given the impression that Timothy and I were having some marital trouble and he wanted to come pick up some of his belongings," Zak's wife said in her petition for a protective order. The wife filled the cop in …
Saturday, May 4, 2013
A Caribbean music record company owner has a drug dog's lack of punctuality to thank for getting him out of a felony pot charge, but he still couldn't get his marijuana back.
Martin Scott was looking at a possible 30-year prison sentence after a police dog found pot in the trunk of his car back in September 2011. But a Cook County judge decided this week that the 41 minutes a state trooper made Scott wait for the dog to show up was too long, and ruled that the marijuana could not be used as evidence against him. Without that evidence, prosecutors decided to drop the case. Scott, 52, said he is the owner of Kingston, Jamaica, based UIM Records. He also said he obtained his marijuana legally in California and asked if he could have it back. He was refused. Scott left the Markham courthouse a happy—and free—man, and strolled away puffing on his electronic cigarette. Not too many other people written about last …
Thursday, April 11, 2013
A Joliet man who pleaded guilty earlier this year to child pornography and unlawful videotaping charges will be sentenced next month.
A former Joliet resident who pleaded guilty to child pornography and unlawful videotaping charges will be sentenced next month. Timothy Zak, 45, appeared in court Wednesday but his attorney, Vincent Cornelius, said he was still waiting on a sex offender evaluation to be completed. Zak was arrested in October after police said they learned he had secretly recorded his teenage stepdaughter getting in and out of the shower. Zak was reportedly living with the teen in a Waterway Court house on the city's far west side when the videos were recorded but resided in Wheaton at the time of his arrest, according to jail records. Police initially secured only two felony charges of unlawfully videotaping a person younger than 18 against Zak, but an …
Saturday, March 2, 2013
The judge for the Hickory Street double murder case doesn't want anyone talking.
The Hickory Street double murder case took a surprising twist this week when one of the defense lawyers complained about stories in Patch and the judge ordered the attorneys involved not to talk to the media. Will County Judge Gerald Kinney also sealed the file for the case against accused killers Adam Landerman, 19, Joshua Miner, 24, Alisa Massaro, 18, and Bethany McKee, also 18. The four were charged with murdering Terrance Rankins and Eric Glover, both 22, in Massaro's house on Hickory Street in Joliet. Judge Kinney said he wants both defense attorneys and prosecutors to investigate who allegedly leaked police reports. The judge said he will revisit the issue on March 11. Here's what else was going on in the area's courthouses last week…
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Drew Peterson was in court last week trying to get a new trial, and there were a few other people with cases too.
Drew Peterson was brought into a courtroom packed with reporters and had a hearing to set the date for another hearing to see if he can have a do-over of his murder trial. That was the biggest thing going on at the Will County Courthouse last week, but it wasn't the only thing. Let's look at what else was going on in the week that was:
Thursday, November 1, 2012
A Chicago man's sex chats with someone he thought was a 14-year-old Naperville girl turned out to really be with a cop, so he went to jail, police said.
A Chicago man who thought he was preying on a 14-year-old Naperville girl got the surprise of his life when he found out he'd actually been sex-talking and exposing himself to a cop, police said. Mark Barreto, 34, of 300 N. Canal St. was jailed Wednesday on charges of aggravated child pornography, regular child pornography, indecent solicitation of a child, and grooming. "The Bolingbrook Police Department, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the FBI were instrumental in conducting the investigation and securing the arrest," according to a release from the Will County State's Attorney's Office. Barreto allegedly transferred digital images of child pornography over the Internet. His online creepiness also included discussing "acts of …
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Another seven lovers of boys are also headed for prison three years after they were arrested by federal agents.
A self-avowed boy-loving Crest Hill man is headed off to federal prison on a nine-year sentence for possessing and distributing child pornography. And when Mark McGill, 27, gets out of the penitentiary, he will be on probation for another 20 years. McGill was one of eight men arrested in a 2009 FBI sting. Federal agents set a up their pervert pitfall by organizing a hotel party in Skokie for McGill and the other "self-identified 'boylovers,'" according to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney's Office. McGill and the others were all arrested during or soon after the party. Six of the eight copped guilty pleas. Three of the six who pleaded were used against McGill and the one other man who chose to fight the charges in court. This man, …
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
The committeewoman for the Troy Democrats charged with having sex with a teenage boy had her bond lowered by $150,000.
The 76-year-old boyfriend of a 32-year-old woman charged with setting up a sex date with a 15-year-old boy believes he can spring his young lover from jail now that a judge lowered her bond. "I'm working on it now to get that," veteran weekly newspaperman John Gabriel said of the $10,000 he needs to bail lady friend Margarita Hernandez out of jail. Judge Richard Schoenstedt reduced Hernandez's bond from $250,000 to $100,000 Wednesday. She only needs to post 10 percent of that for her release from the Will County jail. "Margarita has very substantial savings," said Gabriel, who like his live-in girlfriend is a precinct committeeman for the Troy Township Democrats. While Hernandez might have money stashed away, Gabriel said he can't get at …
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
The lawyer for James Severson will get a chance to cut down the porn-possessor's sentence next week.
Shorewood piano tuner James Severson will likely be playing the prison blues for the next three years. Judge Sarah Jones sentenced Severson to a three year hitch Tuesday for possessing child pornography. Jones said passing sentence is something she "struggles" with, but still packed Severson off to prison. "It's a hard thing to do," she said. Jones said she took into account the sadomasochistic nature of the video and photographs found on Severson's computer. She also considered that he has no criminal history. The law learned of Severson's kiddie porn collection after his wife, Margaret DeLeon, sought a court order in January 2008 to keep him away from her and her teenage daughter. "My husband has purchased 14 child pornography videos …
Friday, October 5, 2012
The FBI is reportedly investigating the existence of a child pornography operation in connection with the arrest of an official from the Troy Democrats who lives with a veteran Joliet reporter.
A Troy Township Democratic official was charged with setting up a sex date with a 15-year-old boy and federal agents searched her house on suspicion she has been producing child pornography videos, police said. Margarita Hernandez, 32, of 6901 Monmouth Drive on Joliet's far west side, was arrested about 3 p.m. Thursday and taken to the Will County jail on a warrant charging her with two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. Hernandez had sex with a 15-year-old Chicago boy during a prearranged July meeting at her home, police said. Get all the latest Joliet news in your inbox every morning. Sign up for our free daily newsletter. Hernandez shares that home with her boyfriend, 76-year-old veteran weekly newspaperman John Gabriel. Both …
Chirex
1:39 pm on Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Way to go Patch reporters and editors! Enough with the daily trolling of court records and selective quoting of salacious details to help the small-minded reader feel superior. more ›